Burials Assistance Act 1965 (Qld)

Burials Assistance Act 1965

An Act to assist in the disposal of bodies by providing for the burial or cremation of deceased persons in certain cases and for purposes connected therewith, and to validate certain burials

1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Burials Assistance Act 1965.

2 [Repealed]

3 Burial or cremation of the dead (1) It shall be the duty of the chief executive to cause to be buried or cremated the body of any person who has died or has been found dead in Queensland, in any case where it appears to the chief executive that no suitable arrangements for the disposal of the body have been or are being made otherwise than by the chief executive. (2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall affect any enactment regulating or authorising the burial, cremation, or anatomical examination of the body of a deceased person. (3) The chief executive shall not cause a body to be cremated under this section where the chief executive has reason to believe that cremation would be contrary to the wishes of the deceased.

4 Cost of burial or cremation (1) All expenses incurred by the chief executive under section 3 (including the expense of conveying the body to a morgue or other place) shall be met by the chief executive, and moneys from the consolidated fund are hereby to the necessary extent appropriated accordingly. (2) The chief executive on behalf of the State may, by action as for a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction, recover from the estate of the deceased person, or from a relative or relatives of the deceased person, the expenses referred to in subsection (1). (3) However, nothing contained in subsection (2) shall be construed as requiring the chief executive to take steps to recover any such expenses from the estate of any deceased person who was, in the opinion of the chief executive, an indigent person, or from any relative who is, in the opinion of the chief executive, an indigent person. (4) All moneys recovered by the chief executive under subsection (2), other than any amount for GST payable for a supply made by the chief executive relating to the expenses, shall be paid to the consolidated fund. (5) In this section— relative, of a deceased person, means— (a) for an adult—the person's spouse; or (b) for a child—the person's parents.